Ballast spreader



Dec. 2, 1924. 1,517,409

s. DEARRY BALLAST SPREADER Patented Dec. 2, 1924.

ismaerica.

SID nEAnRY, ornament HILL, TENNESSEE.

BALLAST SPREADER.

Application filed' october 7, 1922. serial No. 593,103.

To all whom t may concern: Be it known that I, SID DEARRY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chapel Hill, in the county of Marshall and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Ballast Spreader; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. Y

This invention relates to a ballast spreader.

It is aimed to provide a novel, improved and simplified construction of ballast spreader adapted for movement along a railroad track through pushing movement of a car after it has discharged crushed rock or other ballast, in order to spread said ballast into position along the track and intermediate the ties.

It is also aimed to provide a construction in which the spreading action will occur unbroken from endto end of the ties, in which the shoes employed will effectively and etliciently cooperate with the car wheels, in which the spreader is notched to engage the track rails and to have its lower edge at the proper depth, and to provide means to reinforce the lower edge of the spreader against undue wear through action of the stone or rock against the same.

Various additional objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the description lfollowing taken in connection with accompanying drawings illustrating an operative embodiment thereof.

In said drawings Figure l is a view showing the invention in plan and on a railroad track and with car wheels in operative relation thereto;

Figure 2 is a bottom or inverted plan view of the device;

gigure 3 is a rear elevation of the device an Figure 4 is a cross sectional view of the device along the line 4--4 of Figure 3.

Like reference characters designate like or similar parts in the diiferent views.

To facilitate an understanding of the invention, track rails are shown as at A resting on ties B as usual. Wheels of a car or rolling stock are suggestedy at C having the rail-engaging anges D as usual.

In carrying out the invention, a spreader is provided as at l0 which may be a relatively heavy timber or made of any other suitable material. ThisV spreader is of a length equivalent to the length of the ties B and in its lower surface is notched as at 1l in ordeil `toreceive the rails A and position the lower y surface of the spreader below'the plane of the top of the rails. As the rails A are received in notches 1l, lateral displacement of the timber or spreader is resisted.

Spreader 10 is particularly adapted to spread crushed rock or stone or other ballast material which as usual is emptied from a dump car along the track intermediate the rails. It is aimed to provide means whereby the spreader will be pushed by the same car which dumps the ballast and in this way overcome to a considerable extent the manual labor and expense incidental thereto, as usually employed in spreading the ballast.

The spreader is moved longitudinally of the rails and it is preferably of wood, its bottom surface is preferably reinforced as by means of suitable metallic bars, one along each longitudinal edge of said bottom and which bars are fastened to the spreader in any suitable manner as by means of spikes or bolts at 13. The bars 12 also extend along the surfaces of the notches 11 and tend toprevent wear on the spreader incidental to its travel along the track.

Suitably fastened as by means of bolts or the like at l5, are shoes 16 of any suitable construction and material, at their lower ends being disposed in a plane coinciding with the tops of the notches 11 so that said lower end will engage and slide along the said surface of rails A. These shoes may be of any suitable height, preferably extending above the spreader 10 as shown and having their rear surfaces arcuate as at 17 in order to closely fit the attaching surfaces of the wheels C which are usually the wheels of the dump car referred to. The shoes 16 are so disposed that they are overlapped by the Hanges D which tends to prevent lateral or transverse displacement of the spreader.

In use, after the ballast is dumped along the track intermediate the rails A, the spreader 10 is placed in operative position with the rails A received in recesses 1l and the surfaces 17 in engagement with the traction surfaces of wheel C of the dump car.

The dump car is then backed which slides the spreader along the rails A thus spreading the ballast and accomplishing work which is done at present by hand and at considerably greaterexpense.A Itivil-l -be particularlyr noted that ballast which may be disposed on the rails A or adjacent to the sanie will be spread and inthe saine manner as other ballast. The spreader may be'placed in position or reinoved readily as itis rae/lawkr tively light in Weight. The reinforcing bars 12 greatly increase the life of and reduce wear oi the spreader when it is inade of Wood.v

As merely7 one operative embodiment has been illustrated and described, it is. to be understood that changes in the details in'ay be resorted to provided they fall Within the spirit and scoQe of the invention.

l claim niy inventionx# A ballast spreading device including. a spreader bain adaptedto be nioved along a tracln said spreaderY bai' having. notches: in its rlovver. surface to receive the r'ails` .metallic vear-preventingstripseon.saidilovver surface and. extending :into saidiwtclies,y slices secured to the rear side of said spreader and at, their.` lori/er ends extending rearwardly oft tlie spreader i'or a substantial distance Kand on the rails, said shoes having their rear surfaces arcuate 'for direct engageriientiwith` the bearing surfaces of the wheels oi rolling stock, the radius of said surfaces being` substantially .the saine asthat of tlie periphery of. said Wlieels and said shoes adapt'editobe overlapped at their inner sides bv the ti'an'esof said wheels.

lnitestinionyy whereof l; aiiix my signature iii preseiice'ol'two Witnesses. f 

